What to Read: Rach Idowu is adulting with ADHD
This week, we interviewed Rach Idowu, who writes Adulting with ADHD, a publication that explores life as an adult with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What’s your publication about in one sentence?
Personal insights into the daily struggles and dilemmas of ADHD in adulthood.
You started your Substack a few months after receiving your ADHD diagnosis. What inspired you to start writing about such a personal topic?
I was diagnosed with ADHD Combined in January 2020. After my diagnosis, my psychiatrist arranged monthly check-in appointments to see how I was doing with my medication. Shortly after, the U.K. entered into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the ADHD clinic had temporarily closed and suspended all in-person appointments, and at the time, they didn’t offer virtual appointments.
I didn’t have anyone to talk to, and information about ADHD online was quite dry and hard to follow, which didn’t bode well, with my inability to sustain attention. I needed something more personable that gave me insight into what a day in the life of an ADHDer was like.
So I decided to document my own experience, initially for my own benefit. As I started gaining subscribers from virtually no promotion, I felt like I owed it to people to go the extra mile by including links to studies, journals, articles, and other resources that can be pretty difficult to find.
Who is your audience, and what are you hoping they get out of your publication?
My audience ranges from people who have been diagnosed with ADHD, to people who suspect that they might have ADHD, to people who want to develop an understanding of ADHD.
I hope my personal experience helps people to learn more about how ADHD impacts their daily lives, and also what coping strategies they can use to manage specific ADHD traits. I hope that being vulnerable and open will make people feel like they are not alone, and also not a burden to society, their families, or their employers.
Why is it so difficult to get an ADHD diagnosis as an adult?
There are so many reasons. I could probably write a book on it!
ADHD is usually diagnosed in childhood, so it can be quite challenging for adults to convince a doctor to refer us for an ADHD assessment. Some doctors are dismissive on the spot, or they diagnose—and in some cases misdiagnose—people with anxiety, for example. For women, stereotypes of ADHD being a “hyperactive boys’” disorder means that ADHD can go unnoticed in some girls.
Lack of access to ADHD services is another reason. In many countries, an ADHD assessment could cost hundreds of pounds. In the U.K., adults can seek a diagnosis via our National Health Service (NHS) for free. However, it could take up to two years to receive an official diagnosis. I couldn’t afford to pay for an ADHD assessment via a private provider at the time, so I started the process via the NHS, which took around a year and a half.
In other countries, free ADHD assessment is not available, or the service may not even exist for adults.
What do you wish was better understood about navigating life as an adult with ADHD?
Adulting with ADHD is a struggle! Some people think that it’s a cool and quirky disorder that makes you some sort of creative genius, and that’s not the reality for most people.
People dismiss our ADHD by accusing us of simply being lazy, which isn’t true. If people took the time to understand individuals’ experiences of ADHD, they would realize that ADHD presents differently in everyone. Employers, for example, would be in a better position to meet the needs of neurodivergent employees and assist us in thriving in the workplace.
“Some people think that it's a cool and quirky disorder that makes you some sort of creative genius, and that's not the reality for most people.”
What impact have you seen from the writing you’re doing?
The most rewarding thing that has come from writing on Substack is being told by multiple people that my newsletter played a big part in helping them to get an ADHD diagnosis. It’s been amazing to receive this message from people in their 30s and 40s. It’s never too late to seek an ADHD diagnosis.
I also love that I have been able to help people better understand how ADHD impacts their lives. Sharing my authentic experience about the things I struggle with and how I manage the chaos has really resonated with people. Many young Black men and women have reached out to thank me for validating their experience with ADHD.
What’s your writing process like, and how do you decide what to write about?
In one word: chaotic! I’m really terrible at sticking to routines and structure—very ADHD of me! However, I prefer to write on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I set myself artificial deadlines so I can get a post out as quickly as possible.
Everything I write about is based on my personal experience, so I never really run out of material. A topic usually stems from a thought I had during the day or an ADHD trait that I struggle with that’s usually tied into a wider issue, like impostor syndrome.
I could come up with 10 different newsletter post ideas in a day. I make sure I write down the title of post ideas in my drafts, and then I write a few ideas in bullet-point format so I don’t forget what I want to eventually write about.
Who’s another Substack writer you’d recommend?
Bex Sinden! They write entertaining and humorous newsletters on TV shows, movies, and celebrities in their publication Obsessed!.
Subscribe to Rach’s publication, Adulting with ADHD, and find her on Twitter.
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